Frustrated, petulant, bemused.. So City are NOT perfect after all

Oxlade-chamberlain 9 Firmino 59 Mane 61 Salah 68 THEY squabbled, they moaned, they waved their arms, they shook their heads theatrically.

They were not thinking about what tunes to pump out of the visitors’ dressingroom, that’s for sure. From all directions, fingers were pointed. From a petulant Leroy Sane, from a frustrated Kevin De Bruyne, from a bemused John Stones.

Sadio Mane had just cracked a thunderous third and the smoothest outfit in recent Premier League history were in total disarray. They were still bickering when Mo Salah deliciously pocketed the sort of gift that was once the calling card of a Sane 40 B Silva 84 Gundogan 90 Guardiola goalkeeper. The Invincibleselect were in tatters.

It lasted little more than 20 or so minutes, if that.

The sort of implosion that had pockmarked Pep’s first Premier League season, and had now resurfaced, was pretty sudden and very costly.

It should be easily forgotten and, even if its like flares up again, it won’t alter the course of this campaign.

Yet that period of complete raggedness had symbolism, it had significance.

Of course, it is easy to show ambition and adventure when you have Liverpool’s roster of thrilling offensiveminded footballers, players who are particularly effective on the counterattack.

For all their brilliance here, the Reds still only had 36 per cent possession, but they quickly committed the sort of numbers forward that would give Jose Mourinho palpitations.

That exposed the weakness in this Manchester City side that has been buried beneath their own avalanche of attacking brilliance for so long.

Unsurprisingly with Guardiola (left), that weakness remains basic defending.

His faith in Danilo is so shallow, he prefers Fabian Delph as a makeshift left-back.

Delph was weak ahead of Alex Oxlade-chamberlain’s opener and Danilo fared little better after replacing him half-an-hour in.

Maybe John Stones is not yet back to full fitness after a period out, but not only was he feeble when Roberto Firmino gave him a nudge ahead of restoring Liverpool’s lead, after Sane’s